Your cabinets are always there for you, faithfully storing whatever you cram into them. But "out of sight, out of mind" can end up meaning "out of date" — and that's just one of the unhealthy situations that could be developing behind those closed doors. Mold may be growing. Poisons may be lurking. Accidents may be waiting to happen.

So follow our expert-approved cabinet-by-cabinet guide on which household items to keep, toss, or even to add to your shopping list. Give your storage centers a makeover — and protect your family's health in the process.

This is part of a running battle I have with the other half. She believes that expiration dates call for the immediate disposal of many items. In Arizona, meds are required to have an expiration date of one year from date of sale—no matter the reality of their effectiveness. There are no little timers lurking in these bottles to make the meds instantly ineffective. The dangers of many items are inherent like Mighty Oak says, not in their expiration.

By the way, dates on foodstuffs, with the notable exception of baby formula, are for date of sale not for date of use. Refrigerated items should be usable for a minimum of 7 days after the sale date—going bad within that week allows return to retailer for refund. Dry & canned goods and freezer items should be good at least several months longer.

_________________“I'm not a member of any organized party. I'm a Democrat.”-Will Rogers

Refrigerated items should be usable for a minimum of 7 days after the sale date—

Interesting that you should say that, APL. Both you and mighty know how expensive milk is. My husband and I are empty nesters, so a gallon of milk usually lasts a much longer time than it used to, but a half gallon is gone far too quickly. I always dig back into the last row of milk at the market to see if there's a later "sell by" date. Anyway, I have about 2 cups of milk left in a gallon which has a sell-by date marked January 8. I was cooking dinner tonight and thought I'd better smell that remaining milk before I used it. Sure enough, it smelled just fine.

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

Interesting that you should say that, APL. Both you and mighty know how expensive milk is. My husband and I are empty nesters, so a gallon of milk usually lasts a much longer time than it used to, but a half gallon is gone far too quickly. I always dig back into the last row of milk at the market to see if there's a later "sell by" date. Anyway, I have about 2 cups of milk left in a gallon which has a sell-by date marked January 8. I was cooking dinner tonight and thought I'd better smell that remaining milk before I used it. Sure enough, it smelled just fine.

I live in the midst of the various Sun Cities, where everyone is required to be empty nesters. The local grocery stores compensate for this by offering the two-gallon price on single gallons. Milk is often less than $2 a gallon this way. There is no way these retirees would be able to use 2 gallons before they went bad.

_________________“I'm not a member of any organized party. I'm a Democrat.”-Will Rogers

Interesting that you should say that, APL. Both you and mighty know how expensive milk is. My husband and I are empty nesters, so a gallon of milk usually lasts a much longer time than it used to, but a half gallon is gone far too quickly. I always dig back into the last row of milk at the market to see if there's a later "sell by" date. Anyway, I have about 2 cups of milk left in a gallon which has a sell-by date marked January 8. I was cooking dinner tonight and thought I'd better smell that remaining milk before I used it. Sure enough, it smelled just fine.

I live in the midst of the various Sun Cities, where everyone is required to be empty nesters. The local grocery stores compensate for this by offering the two-gallon price on single gallons. Milk is often less than $2 a gallon this way. There is no way these retirees would be able to use 2 gallons before they went bad.

Damn, I have to pay $4.00 per gallon of milk here in Pa. and I drink a lot of milk.

My local dairy used to have a lable that stated "From cows NOT treated with Artificial Growth Hormones(rBST}"

And now they are required to state "From cows NOT treated with Artificial Growth Hormones(rBST) FDA says no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from (rBST) treated and non-treated cows"

Funny thing is.................there is a difference. The Truth < Video Must be a member of tvnewslies to view.

What I find ironic is that people want to warn us about expiration dates when what they are selling us is poison and what they are injecting into our children and our troops, is poison.

I have a choice to laugh or cry...........I guess I do both.

_________________"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one"Albert Einstein